Showing stock
By Steve Herring
Published in News on March 31, 2016 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Alan Johnson, far right, and other competitors wait for the results of the Senior Showmanship Meat Goat class of the Wayne County Junior Livestock Show and Sale Wednesday night. Johnson placed first and went on to compete and win Grand Champion.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Mary Dunn, 17, guides her 2-year-old heifer Lilly back and forth across the parking lot of the Wayne Regional Agricultural Fairgrounds.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Jacob Hinson, 14, comforts his goat Janet as Rosewood High School FFA volunteer Brent Jennings grooms her before show time at the Wayne Regional Agricultural Fairgrounds Wednesday.
DUDLEY -- Alan Johnson whispered words of encouragement to his partner, Monopoly, a 10-month-old goat, and said a quick prayer Wednesday night.
Mary Dunn and her partner, Lilly, were pacing back and forth in an effort to calm the excited 2-year-old heifer.
Nearby pens were filled with disinterested sleeping hogs awaiting their turn to shine this morning in the 68th annual Junior Livestock Show and Sale sponsored by the Wayne County Livestock Development Association.
Johnson and Miss Dunn were among the 38 local youth to compete in the annual event held Wednesday night and this morning at the Wayne County Fairgrounds.
It will continue later today with a costume contest at 5:30 p.m. and the "City Slicker" Contest at 6 p.m. The contest is designed to let children who have not have had a chance to show animals test the waters.
Awards will be presented at 7 p.m., and the sale will start at 7:30.
The Wayne Regional Agricultural Fair and livestock show and sale are the association's main two activities.
The money received from the sale and premiums on the ribbon goes into educational funds for many of the youth.
"There are 38 kids participating this year," fair Manager Eddie Pitzer said. "We are actually off a little bit in the number of kids that we had last year. I think it is just one of those things. We have good participation from the ag programs in the high schools. But not as many goats as we have typically had in years past.
"Hog numbers are up. I think there are 12 goats. We ended up with 32 hogs. There are seven steers to be shown, an increase, and we also have a heifer class. Some of the steers will be sold at the sale, but the heifers are basically just here for the show itself. The kids will get the experience of showing them, but they will not be sold."
Some of the youths showed different species.
Johnson, 17, who is from the Seven Spring area, has been showing animals since he was 6.
"My tradition is just talking to him saying, 'Hey let's have a good show,' and I always send up a quick prayer to the Lord," said Johnson, a junior at Spring Creek High School. "That is what I do every time before I enter the ring.
"I always call him Monopoly because you never know what you are going to get out of him."
Sometimes Monopoly even listens.
He did last night monopolizing the competition to win him and Johnson top honors in showmanship in the meat and market goat senior divisions as well as winning reserve grand champion.
The secret to working with the animals is patience and a love of doing it, Johnson said.
"There is nothing better that somebody my age could do because it teaches you everything," he said. "But beside that when you love something, you put every effort you have in it. Hard work is the key, working with your animal getting to know them, building that relationship."
Johnson grew up on the farm and has breeding goats at home and is in the market for more show stock so he can show throughout the year in the Eastern North Carolina Youth Meat Goat Circuit.
That is 10 shows across eastern North Carolina. He also shows at the North Carolina State Fair as well as a few out-of-state shows.
Coming from an agricultural background showing goats, cattle and hogs came naturally, he said.
The benefits of programs such as the show and sale are limitless, said Brent Jennings, 4H livestock specialist.
"Kids learn so much from the fact that not only are they raising animals, they are learning responsibility," he said. "They are learning work ethic. They are learning scheduling. These kids are learning financial responsibility. They have to purchase these animals. They have to buy feed for them. If there are health care needs they need to contact the vet.
"So they learn a tremendous amount. It just builds them personally. So we say we are using livestock as a tool to mold our young people. This may be there niche in life. It gives them a great avenue to be involved and to learn a lot. At the end of the day, we hope they can get a financial award from doing this that will hopefully help them as they prepare for college."
Mary Dunn, 17, of the Newton Grove community is a student at the Wayne School of Engineering.
"I have shown her since last year," she said. "Last year at this show, I won reserve grand with her, so we came back to see how she is going to do. There is some tough competition.
"Tonight she wants to act a little wild, so I am trying to tire her out a little bit or at least get her where she can walk better and not when I get in the show ring she doesn't run and act crazy. So I am trying to tire her out."
It worked. Lilly was fairly calm, if somewhat stubborn in the ring. But she wasn't by herself as several of the animals refused to move or tried to run.
One even kicked out with a back leg, forcing the judge to do a quick two-step.
Miss Dunn started out showing goats before moving on to pigs.
"At 9, I was a little scared to work with cows," she said. "I was just nervous. But I learned how to work with them, and I like cows better because goats you have to lean over. You have to brace them and with cows you stand tall, and you have to be strong in order to be able to hold them.
"There is a chain under her neck, and when she acts up I can jerk on it. Or I have my stick. I put it in front of her face which warns her to stop or to act calmer or slow down."
Normally, when Lilly gets in the show ring, the first thing she wants to do is run, Miss Dunn said.
"I usually put my stick in front of her face to slow her down," she said.
A lot of work is involved, Miss Dunn said.
"I wash her about every day, or at least rinse her," she said. "Then you blow dry her and walk her. It is a long process every day, and we brought six cows out here -- me and my brother, Daniel.
"It is a lot of responsibility. It is a lot of work, but at the end, when you get the paycheck, it is really nice because I put it toward my college fund. I have sold some animals here."